ABU DHABI - November 20 - It took 12 years and 91 race events but French pilot Philippe Chiappe earned his first pole position of his career laying down a blinding 45.33 second time and a 166.78 kph speed in his new MOORE boat in front of thousands of race fans along the lovely corniche in downtown Abu Dhabi.
The likeable from Rouen, will lead the field of 18 drivers from 11 different nations for tomorrow's Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi around one of the fastest circuits on the world tour and what many believe maybe the most difficult to get right.
Philippe, who sits second in the drivers championship with 30 points, will be searching for his second career win and a shot for his first world championship at the fourth and penultimate round of the 2014 UIM F1 H2O World Championship for power-boating.
"We had the perfect package to grab pole position despite my less than perfect driving," said the 52 year-old driver. "Tomorrow is another day and I know it will be both my most important of my career but also the toughest with everyone else barking at me from behind."
Starting next to the Frenchman will be young American driver Shaun Torrente of the Qatar Team who missed taking his second straight pole in less than seven days by .16 of a second racing at a clip of 166.23 kph and a time of 45.48.
"We did our best believe me," said Shaun. "I congratulate Philippe for his great run and will be looking to push him for the lead early on in the race. It will be fun, believe me. I can't wait for tomorrow."
In the third position was the promising rookie Erik Stark of Sweden as the Team Nautica driver ran a strong 45.53 lap time for a speed of 166.04 in his best ever qualifying effort of his short career as he gets ready to start his sixth career event tomorrow.
He was ahead of his veteran teammate Marit Stromoy of Norway as she will start in a very respectable ninth position off the dock with a 47.29 second lap.
In the fourth place was local driver Ahmed Al Hameli who for the second straight season will start there off the dock leading his Team Abu Dhabi squad with his teammate Thani Al Qamzi in the eighth starting spot.
Al Hameli, recorded a 45.79 second tour around the six-pin 2.005 kilometer circuit and a speed of 165.10 kph speed.
World Championship points leader Alex Carella of the Qatar Team, with 40 points on the year, will begin in fifth position fighting to get a good feel with his new boat while holding a 10 point margin in the title race over pole man Chiappe and 11 over his teammate Torrente who starts three places in front of him in second.
Finnish star Sami Selio, will start sixth, running a speed of 159.70 kph looking for his fifth pole position here in Abu Dhabi in his 15th race along the corniche.
Sami, along with Carella, are on a learning curve with their new boats and Selio hopes to reach the podium tomorrow for the second time in a row after finishing third in Doha for his Mad Croc Baba Racing organization.
Just missing the Q3 Top-Six "Shootout" was Italian veteran Francesco Cantando who will be making his 18th start on the corniche looking for his third victory here in his Motorglass F1 Team BLAZE hull.
Rounding out the top ten will be young Finnish driver Filip Roms who did a 49.94 second lap qualifying in the top-10 for the third time in four races this season as he hopes to improve on his eighth place finish of a year ago.
Tomorrow's Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi will be set for 37 laps around the 2.005 kilometer circuit with more than a handful of drivers still in with a shout for the drivers championship in 2014.
Last year it was Sami Selio winning from pole position and now can it also be the French pilot Philippe Chiappe doing it for the first time in his 12 year career.
The fourth round of the UIM F1 H2O World Championship series will take place at 15:30 local time, 11:30 GMT and 06:30 EST on the East Coast of North America.
The event can be followed either with live streaming our by watching the worldwide television broadcast by going to the series official internet site at ww.f1h2o.com.
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